The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “is making great progress in implementing electronic country to country transfer of plant phytosanitary certificates” through what is known as the ePhyto hub, Nicole Russo, APHIS director-Quarantine Policy, Analysis, and Support, said Sept. 17 during the online conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Currently, 42 countries, including Mexico and all of Europe, exchange “ePhytos,” and that number is expected to “increase significantly,” she said.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Oct. 7, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by Oct. 6. The COAC will hear from the following subcommittees on the topics listed below and then will review, deliberate and formulate recommendations on how to proceed on those topics:
Industry should expect the Bureau of Industry and Security's increased activity around export controls to continue, including more additions to the Entity List and the “refinement” of export controls for Hong Kong, said Tim Mooney, a BIS senior export policy analyst.
Customs brokers and a trade attorney urged trade professionals to work with their importers now to prepare for enforcement of USMCA next year. Monica DeMars, manager of corporate customs for C.H. Robinson, told attendees at a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference session on Sept. 18 that when CBP begins enforcing USMCA, it will look at July-December entries from this year, not just start enforcing prospectively.
Five cargo handling organizations published guidance and a checklist on international packing standards to improve safety practices for freight containers. The groups said they are concerned by a rise in container fires aboard ships. The guidance covers the United Nations’ Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU). The checklist details “actions and responsibilities” for those in charge of packing cargo in freight containers to help reduce “serious injuries” among shipping crews and port staff.
CBP offered some clarification to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America after the trade group said it is concerned about a recent ruling involving bonded carriers. CBP recently ruled that bonded merchandise can only be carried by non-bonded parties if the bonded carrier first takes physical delivery of the merchandise and obligates its bond to a non-bonded carrier (see 2005290018). “CBP clarified that in the ruling scenario, the goods were not under bond when they were picked up,” the NCBFAA said in a Sept. 16 email. “When a bonded carrier initiates a bonded move, the bonded carrier must start with the goods in its possession. It could have then authorized a third party to act under their bond on any subsequent moves.”
Importers that want to benefit from a lawsuit challenging list 3 and list 4A Section 301 tariffs on goods from China may face a tight deadline for filing their own cases at the Court of International Trade, law firms said in recent days. “This lawsuit, if successful, could result in the refund of all Section 301 tariffs levied on List 3 and List 4A goods from China,” the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed alert. “However, importers must file their own independent claims to preserve their potential refunds by Friday, Sept. 18.”
The new lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America encouraged members to keep calling their elected representatives' offices to ask them to support a bill that would change clawback rules in the case of business bankruptcies. Currently, money paid to customs brokers in the 90 days before a bankruptcy filing is clawed back from those firms, even if the money was passed through to CBP for duty payments. CBP does not return the duties in this process, so a customs broker is on the hook for it, and has to get in line with other creditors for a partial payment.
The Federal Maritime Commission said its May rule on detention and demurrage charges (see 2004290037) is helping to reduce unfair penalties imposed by carriers, but industry said the fees are continuing and the FMC’s guidance is not being followed. The rule “at first seemed to be a great victory,” said Rich Roche, vice president of international transportation at Mohawk Global Logistics, speaking during a virtual conference hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Sept. 14. But Roche, who is also the chair for the NCBFAA’s Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier Subcommittee, said some carriers increased their demurrage and detention fees the same week the rule was finalized.
The advance notice of proposed rulemaking on continuing education for licensed brokers is currently circulating in CBP for review, said CBP Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez. Perez was speaking at an online conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on Sept. 14. He did not say what kind of mandatory requirements would be part of the plan, but said that it will include a methodology for approving education accreditors, and said that the agency has “taken into account the excellent feedback from you and other trade stakeholders.” The NCBFAA supports mandatory continuing education, but has been concerned about the details (see 2002130025).